GovLoop has an opportunity to create a resource page for people who are new to Federal employment. Do you remember when you were first hired? Maybe you were hired in the last year! Maybe you worked for government and now you're a contractor, but you have some ideas that could help people who are new to government. Help us build this resource by answering a few questions

1. What worked well to on-board you?
2. What would you have liked to experience in the on-boarding process?
3. Do you know of exceptional on-boarding programs in government?
3. What kinds of tools and information are critical to get new hires off on the right foot?
4. What training is helpful for new hires and who provides it?
5. What are the most common websites that new hires visit and need to navigate?
6. Do you know of great books or authors (i.e. regular columnists) that offer advice and explain how the system works to people who are new to Federal employment?

Share with us anything and everything that you think can make the lives of Federal new hires easier...we'll see if we can't put together a one-stop shop to help out our new colleagues.

-I think a lot of the how-tos like dealing with your manager, co-workers
-Basics like dressing, showing up early, value of what people perceive
-The basic work tips - how to act in a meeting, a teleconference, etc
-Tips on learning more about govt - read govloop but also list of other good sites - for example the sites our digg-like govzine compiles the likes of fcw, dorobek, gcn, govexec, and there are a few more that rock
-Some cool associations for new employees like YGL

I think that the Partnership for Public Service's publication - Getting on Board - is a great primer on on-boarding. If agencies followed these principles, we would all be better off. I think that all the benefits paperwork should be done prior to reporting for work and there are automated on-boarding systems for helping employees to do that.

An overview of the misssion and culture of the organization is critical. Also, there are practical applications, such as how e-mail/web communications work, how T&A is done, how the travel system is supposed to work, and other tools of the trade.

Employees also need to know about the work/life related services and benefits available, such as fitness faciltiies, telework procedures, and other services available to employees to make their worklife less stressful.

I also think that having a co-worker serve as a "buddy" to guide you through the beaucracy is also important.

Figuring out a way to streamline issuing of badges and computer accounts is key. Having to get signed in as a visitor until you have a "real" badge is annoying to both the new hire and her office; not being able to login to a computer in this day and age pretty much equals not being able to do work. So if there's some way to get that paperwork through *before* the first day of work, that would be quite a coup.

I can think of a few different employers and my first week or so. What I needed during that time was different depending on my job. Such as:
- File organization system: Some agencies had things organized by the last or first name of whoever did the job before I got there. Or, by contract number. Or by any number of things that have no meaning whatsoever to the new guy or gal. One's job may be to re-organize, but it would help to know how to navigate the existing system.
- List of Acronyms. "John, did you receive my POL ..." So, is that Parts, Oil, and Lubricants (what that could mean in the Army), Personnel something, Philosophical Objection Lesson, etc.
- The Picture, as in, what's important that's going on, whether it be aircraft to an Air Traffic Controller, or other things.
- When to expect the Gut Truck is nice (the observant new-hire will usually notice, especially when half the crew grabs cash and runs off for snacks), or where the nearest coffee shop is.
- Security protocals. If you're new you won't know specific tasks or procedures to protect data, gain access to areas, or recognize people that shouldn't be in an area.
- Time. There are often competing expectations - that you complete administrative training and paperwork AND that you get your job done, too. A manager just needs to factor some time into their subordinate's schedules so they can address both expectations.

-For fresh out of college...adjusting to work generally.
-For more seasoned folks...
probably goes general atmosphere (maybe government, TSP, etc)
-rough landscape (your department, mission, values, etc)
-micro-level (wheres coffee, how do we fill out time, who is cool in the office, best local restaurant)
-project level (whos my boss, what am i supposed to be working on)

In my 12 years, I have seen a lot of new hires come through my office but for some reason, we RARELY manage to get their computer, email account, and phone lines activated on time. And as a result, they are stuck for the first several days of work reading lots of reports or manuals or other random papers as opposed to getting involved in "real work." This seems like a very basic, very easily addressable failure that ought to be fixed in a heartbeat.

We have the same phenom in our agency as well. Wouldn't it be great if the new hire could use that "downtime" (free of the distraction of a telephone and computer) to shadow a mentor or to read the agency's personnel manual, before their "real work" began?

If someone tells you "that's the way we've always done it" look for a better answer and better yet, replace the broken status quo with an improved process or solution.

Align yourself with the information mavens, the knowledge managers who understand where the flaws are then work on eliminating the flaws.

Cross polinate, share your knowledge and experience, and insist on improving efficiency. Document your efforts. Write up best practices because when the process steps are outlined in detail, the erroneous assumptions, time sinks, wasted steps appear and you have a roadmap for process improvement.

When I cam on board -- and I suspect the same is true to many others in federal and state government -- I relocated and faced a difficult transition. Now with new employees both permanent and temporary, I make sure to ask about their expectations and concerns about living in a new location and refer them to peers or services that will help smooth their transition. In many cases it is the difficulties outside of work that lead to difficulties at work. Looking at the whole person is important.

What we're creating here through our responses is really a great guide for managers and supervisors!

As a follow-up question: are there websites or books or similar resources where you could direct the new hire to learn about government and the way it works? Would be cool to build/share resources for them...

The Merit Systems Protection Board asked federal employees which behaviors and characteristics help advance a federal career. Here are the top such factors, along with the percentage of employees who said it would be helpful:

Agency missions and cultures are so different, that I think a certain part of onboarding needs to focus on how things work specifically at that particular agency. Also, from the HR/manager side, I know managing leave is a huge, complicated issue. It would be beneficial to all if employees had an overview of how leave works in the federal government early on in the process. And employees should also be made aware of their EEO rights and responsibilities. No only does it make sense, but it's required by the NoFEAR Act.